President Biden’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2024 includes a whopping $1.9 billion for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), a massive increase of millions of dollars from the previous year’s budget.
The proposal comes as the ATF faces increased scrutiny over its efforts to further regulate firearms, which includes the implementation of multiple controversial rules, such as the banning of stabilizing pistol braces, a “zero-tolerance” policy for federal firearms dealers and rules cracking down on “ghost guns.”
If approved, Biden’s budget would increase funding for the ATF by roughly $200 million, or 13.6%, compared to the fiscal year 2023 budget. It would also mark a $663 million increase, or 50%, from former President Obama’s final budget in fiscal year 2017.
This 2008 file photo shows weapons seized by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and laid out on a table at the bureau’s Arizona headquarters in Phoenix. (Reuters)
